George
Pickett was born
in 1825. He graduated from the Military Academy at West
Point in 1846 at the very bottom of the 59 man class. Commissioned
in the Infantry he won a brevet during the the Mexican
War (1846-48).
On the outbreak of the American Civil War he joined the Confederate
Army and was commissioned as a colonel in the Gamecock Brigade.
He fought at Williamsburg and
Fair Oaks in May, 1862, before being
severely wounded in the shoulder at Gaines's Mill. Promoted to the
rank of major general, Pickett was sent to help defend Fredericksburg.
In the summer of 1863 Robert E. Lee decided
to take the war to the north. The Confederate
Army reached Gettysburg, Pennsylvania
on 1st July. The town was quickly taken but the Union
Army, led by Major General George Meade,
arrived in force soon afterwards and for the next two days the town
was the scene of bitter fighting. Attacks led by Pickett, James
Jeb Stuart and James Longstreet
proved costly and by the 5th July, Lee decided to retreat south. Both
sides suffered heavy losses with Lee losing 28,063 men and Meade 23,049.
In September, 1863, Pickett was sent to recuperate and recruit more
men in Virginia. He became commander of the Department of Virginia
and North Carolina and took part in action at Drewry's Bluff (May,
1864) and Cold Harbor (June, 1864).
On 1st April 1865 Philip
H. Sheridan attacked
Pickett and James Longstreet at
Five Forks. The Confederates lost
5,200 men. On hearing the news, Robert E. Lee
decided to abandon Richmond and join
Joseph E. Johnston in an attempt to
halt Sherman's army in South Carolina.
After the war Pickett worked in the insurance
business in Virginia. George Pickett died in 1875. His book,
Soldier of the South, General
Pickett's War Letters to His Wife, was published
in 1928.
(1)
George E. Pickett, letter to his wife after the Battle of Gettysburg
(6th July, 1863)
The
sacrifice of life on that bloodsoaked field on the fatal 3rd was too
awful for the heralding of victory, even for our victorious foe, who,
I think, believe as we do, that it decided the fate of our cause.
No words can picture the anguish of that roll call - the breathless
waits between the responses. The "Here" of those who, by
God's mercy, had miraculously escaped the awful rain of shot and shell
with a sob - a gasp - a knew - for the unanswered name of his comrade
called before his.
Even now I can hear them cheering as I gave the order, "Forward"!
I can feel their faith and trust in me and their love for our cause.
I can feel the thrill of their joyous voices as they called out all
along the line, "We'll follow you, Master George. We'll follow
you, we'll follow you." Oh, how faithfully they kept their word,
following me on, on to their death, and I, believing in the promised
support, led them on, on, on.
Oh, God! I can't write you a love letter today, my Sallie, for, with
my great love for you and my gratitude to God for sparing my life
to devote to you, comes the overpowering thought of those whose lives
were sacrificed - of the brokenhearted widows and mothers and orphans.
The moans of my wounded boys, the sight of the dead, upturned faces
flood my soul with grief; and here am I, whom they trusted, whom they
followed, leaving them on the field of carnage.
(2)
George E. Pickett, letter to his wife after the battle of Five
Forks
and the loss of Richmond
(9th April, 1865)
Lee's surrender is imminent.
It is finished. The cloud of despair settled over all on the 3rd when
the tidings came to us of the evacuation of Richmond and its partial
loss by fire. The homes and families of many of my men were there,
and all knew too well that with the fall of our capital, the last
hope of success was over.
It is finished! Thousands of them have gone to their eternal home,
having given up their lives for the cause they knew to be just. The
others, alas, heartbroken, crushed in spirit, are left to morn its
loss. Well, it is practically all over now. We have poured out our
blood, and suffered untold hardships and privations, all in vain.
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